Dryer appliances generally include a cabinet with a drum mounted therein. In many dryer appliances, a motor rotates the drum during operation of the dryer appliance, e.g., to tumble articles located within a chamber defined by the drum. Alternatively, dryer appliances with fixed drums have been utilized. Dryer appliances also generally include a heater assembly that passes heated air through the chamber of the drum in order to dry moisture-laden articles disposed within the chamber. This internal air then passes from the chamber through a vent duct to an exhaust conduit, through which the air is exhausted from the dryer appliance.
In many dryer appliances, dry cycles operate for predetermined periods of time. A user may, for example, choose various variables, such as dryness level and load size, and a set time period for a dry cycle may be set based on these variables. These predetermined dry cycle time periods, however, can result in over-drying or under-drying of articles being dried, because other variables such as the moisture content of the articles is not taken into account. More recently, attempts have been made to determine appropriate dry cycle time periods for articles in real time during dry cycles, in order to reduce instances of over-drying and under-drying. For example, attempts have been made to measure the resistance across the articles during the dry cycle and correlate these measurements to dryness. Alternatively, humidity sensors have been utilized to measure the humidity of the internal air in the dryer appliance. Such attempts, however, can be complex and unreliable, and may for example still result in instances of over-drying and under-drying.
Accordingly, improved dryer appliances and methods for operating dryer appliances are desired in the art. In particular, dryer appliances and associated methods which facilitate reduced or eliminated instances of over-drying and under-drying would be advantageous.